Part 5 - A Case for Joseph Smith; A Case Against Polygamy

“The clerk
of every church [branch] should keep a record of all marriages, solemnized in
his branch.

All legal
contracts of marriage made before a person is baptized into this church, should
be held sacred and fulfilled.

Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of
fornication, and polygamy: we declare
that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one
husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again . . . .

We have given the above rule of marriage as the only one practiced in
this church, to show
that Dr. J. C. Bennett’s ‘secret wife system’ is a matter of his own
manufacture; and further to disabuse the public ear, and shew that the said
Bennett and his misanthropic friend Origen Bachelor [who lectured with
Bennett], are perpetrating a foul and infamous slander upon an innocent people,
and need but be known to be hated and despised.” – Joseph Smith (Times and
Seasons 3:939) (emphasis added).

“That we
will have no fellowship whatever with any Elder belonging to the quorums of the
Seventies who is guilty of polygamy or any offence of the kind, and who does
not in all things conform to the laws of the church.” – Presidents of the
Seventies (April 29, 1837).

Responses
by the Church and Joseph Smith to Dr. Bennett’s Malicious Accusations

In 1842, Dr. John Bennett published a series of letters
denouncing Joseph Smith and alleging various lascivious polygamous doctrines
supposedly endorsed by the Church.In
response, and as editor of the Times and
Seasons, Joseph repeatedly denounced polygamy and printed affidavits
declaring his innocence.When the July 8
and July 15, 1842 issues of the Sangamo
Journal reached Nauvoo, containing some of Dr. Bennett’s letters, Joseph
published eleven pages of statements and affidavits to prove Bennett’s
declarations false.Times and Seasons 3 [August 1, 1842]: 868–878. Apostle William
Smith (Joseph’s brother) responded likewise with lengthy rebuttals in the
Nauvoo Wasp.

Joseph wrote of Bennett:

“He professed to be virtuous and
chaste, yet did he pierce the heart of the innocent, introduce misery and
infamy into families, reveled in voluptuousness and crime, and led the youth
that he had influence over to tread in his unhallowed steps;—he professed to
fear God, yet did he desecrate his name, and prostitute his authority to the
most unhallowed and diabolical purposes; even to the seduction of the virtuous,
and the defiling of his neighbor’s bed.
. . . [H]e has published that the conduct of the Saints was bad—that Joseph
Smith and many others were adulterers, murderers . . . that we believed in and practiced
polygamy.” Times and Seasons 3 [August 1, l842]: 868–869 (emphasis added).

Importantly, Joseph stated that Dr. Bennett had accused Joseph
of practicing polygamy, and that Joseph devoted most
of this issue of the Times
and Seasonsto prove that Bennett’s charges in this regard were
false.If Joseph had been guilty of
polygamy and yet published all this evidence claiming that he was not, then
Joseph was one of the greatest liars in history. Again, Joseph referred to polygamy generally and did not limit his denoucement as to the form of polygamy.

Within the eleven pages which Joseph
published he mentioned “a meeting of the citizens of the city of Nauvoo” which
was held at the “meeting ground” on July 22, 1842. At this gathering “about a thousand men” voted
that Joseph was innocent of Bennett’s charges, which included polygamy.Another petition was also signed by many
nonmembers who declared the same.Id.
at 869.Included in Joseph’s eleven
pages were affidavits and certificates made by Hyrum Smith, William Law, Daniel
Wells, Elias and Francis Higbee, Pamela Michael, Sidney Rigdon, and William and
Henry Marks—exposing Bennett’s evil and upholding Joseph’s innocence.Of this list, all but Hyrum had been called
upon by Bennett to “come out” and publish a statement against Joseph in the
newspapers.Instead, they all wrote
statements exonerating the Prophet.

On September 1, 1842, thirty days after
Bennett’s seraglio (harem) story[1]was published, Joseph
wrote a letter “To All the Saints in Nauvoo.” In this letter (now a part of the Doctrine and
Covenants), the Prophet assured the Saints that he was innocent of all the
plural marriage charges against him by writing:

“Forasmuch as
the Lord has revealed unto me that my enemies, both in Missouri and this state,
were again on the pursuit of me; and inasmuch as they pursue me without a
cause, and have not the least shadow or coloring of justice or right on their
side in the getting up of their prosecutions against me; and inasmuch as their
pretensions are all founded in falsehood of the blackest dye, I have
thought it expedient and wisdom in me to leave the place for a short season,
for my own safety and the safety of this people.”D&C 127:1 (emphasis added).

What pretensions was Joseph referring to?By stating that “their pretentions are all
founded in falsehood,” the Joseph was once again declaring that the charges of
polygamy against him were false. In
order to make his denial of that doctrine more emphatic, Joseph also published
the Church’s law of marriage which he had caused to be written in the Doctrine
and Covenants in 1835.Therefore, in the
September 1, 1842, issue of the Times and
Seasons, Editor Joseph Smith republished the following from the Doctrine
and Covenants:

“Inasmuch as the
public mind has been unjustly abused through the fallacy of Dr. Bennett’s
letters, we make an extract on the subject of marriage, showing the rule of the
church on this important matter.The
extract is from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and is the only rule
allowed by the church. All legal
contracts of marriage made before a person is baptized into this church, should
be held sacred and fulfilled. Inasmuch
as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and
polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and
one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty
to marry again.”Times and Seasons 3:909 (emphasis
added).

(As explained below, the Article on
Marriage was Section 101 in the 1835 Edition, retained in the 1844 Nauvoo
edition, but was removed from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876 when Brigham
Young inserted the dubious Section 132 on polygamy.)

A month later, on October 1, 1842, to
further emphasize the law against polygamy and the Church’s stand for monogamy,
Joseph reprinted more of the law of the Church on Marriage in the Times and Seasons. He published:

“From the Book of Doctrine & Covenants of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
ON MARRIAGE.

According to the
custom of all civilized nations, marriage is regulated by laws and ceremonies:
therefore we believe, that allmarriages in this church of
Christ of Latter Day Saints, should be solemnized in a public meeting,
or feast, prepared for that purpose: and
that the solemnization should be performed by a presiding high priest, high
priest, bishop, elder, or priest, not even prohibiting those persons who are
desirous to get married, of being married by other authority. — We believe that
it is not right to prohibit members of this church from marrying out of the
church, if it be their determination so to do, but such persons will be
considered weak in the faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Marriage should
be celebrated with prayer and thanksgiving; and at the solemnization, the
persons to be married, standing together, the man on the right, and the
woman on the left, shall be addressed, by the person officiating, as he shall
be directed by the holy Spirit; and if there be no legal objections, he shall
say, calling each by their names:‘You
both mutually agree to be each other’s companion, husband and wife, observing
the legal rights belonging to this condition; that is, keeping yourselves
wholly for each other, and from all others, during your lives.’And when they have answered, ‘Yes,’ he shall
pronounce them “husband and wife” in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by
virtue of the laws of the country and authority vested in him:‘may God add his blessings and keep you to
fulfill your covenants from henceforth and forever.Amen.’

The
clerk of every church [branch] should keep a record of all marriages,
solemnized in his branch.

All legal
contracts of marriage made before a person is baptized into this church, should
be held sacred and fulfilled.

Inasmuch
as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and
polygamy: we declare that we believe,
that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in
case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again . . . .

We
have given the above rule of marriage as the only one practiced in this
church, to show that Dr. J. C. Bennett’s ‘secret wife system’ is a
matter of his own manufacture; and further to disabuse the public ear, and shew
that the said Bennett and his misanthropic friend Origen Bachelor [who lectured
with Bennett], are perpetrating a foul and infamous slander upon an innocent
people, and need but be known to be hated and despised.Times
and Seasons 3:939 (emphasis added).

Joseph Smith published that the above
marriage law was the only rule of marriage in the Church. If Joseph were truthful, then he was a
monogamist and was honest in declaring polygamy a false doctrine.Section 101 (of the 1835 Edition of the
Doctrine and Covenants) stated that “this church of Christ has been reproached
with the crime of fornication, and polygamy,” and that “one man should have one
wife.”Joseph’s republishing of the Church’s marriage law twice is
evidence that he did not believe, teach, or practice plural marriage in the
Church, and that he went to great lengths to make that fact a matter of public
record.It is also clear that Joseph
was denouncing all forms of polygamy and was not limiting his declaration to
only the form of polygamy practiced by Dr. Bennett.

Other differences, between the Church’s
official marriage law and Bennett’s fabrication:

1.“[A]ll marriages in
this church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, should be solemnized in a public
meeting.” According to Bennett’s alleged
plural marriage ceremony, marriages were not conducted in a public meeting, but
in the secret Order Lodge; and that the couple to be married should be “standing
together,” while Bennett’s plural marriage document had them kneeling for the
ceremony.

2.Couples were instructed
to keep “yourselves wholly for each other, and from all others, during your
lives.” This precludes any possibility
of the husband being a polygamist, for he vows to keep himself “from all others.”

3.The clerk of every
congregation should “keep a record of all marriages.” If Joseph had been married to thirty-three women,
then thirty-three primary marriage records would still exist—and the LDS Church
would have published them far and wide. It is a fact that not one primary marriage
record can be found for Joseph Smith, other than the record of his marriage to
Emma Hale in 1827.This is why even
the LDS Church cannot state how many wives Joseph allegedly had.Why would God instruct Joseph to keep
records, yet secretly have Joseph to do the exact opposite?

Joseph, as editor, concluded the article
in the Times and Seasons by repeating
that the above “rule of marriage” was “the only one practiced in this
church.”Id.This was another definite statement by him
which upholds monogamy and disproves polygamy.

In that same issue of the Times and Seasons, Joseph wrote:

“We have two
presses doing as much as can be expected from the limited resources of a people
twice plucked up by the roots, and plundered, even to their clothes, besides
the loss of a good printing establishment.As far as truth can be spread and lies contradicted by two presses,
against several thousand [presses], it is done! and we have the gratification
of saying that things seem to work together for good to them that look for the
second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . . [A]nd we do sincerely hope,
that we as children of the kingdom, may keep the law of God, and
the law of the land.”Id.
at 937.

When “several thousand” presses
throughout America, and major cities in England and France, published Bennett’s
seraglio story and the supposed illegal plural marriage ceremony of the LDS
Church, Joseph did not fight the battle alone. Leading men and women at Nauvoo promptly
published certificates denying Bennett’s claims and upholding Joseph Smith’s
innocence.

In the same issue of the Times and Seasons in which he
republished the marriage law the second time, Joseph also published two
certificates to show that “Dr. J. C. Bennett’s ‘secret wife system’ is a matter
of his own manufacture.” The certificate
stated:

“We the
undersigned members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and
residents of the city of Nauvoo, persons of families do hereby certify
and declare that we know of no other rule or system of marriage than the one
published from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,[2]and we give this
certificate to show that Dr. J. C. Bennett’s “secret wife system” is a creature
of his own make as we know of no such society in this place nor never did.

S. Bennett,

N. K. Whitney,

George Miller,

Albert Pettey,

Alpheus Cutler,

Elias Higbee,

Reynolds Cahoon,

John Taylor,

Wilson Law,

E. Robinson,

W. Woodruff,

Aaron Johnson.

Times and Seasons 3 [October 1, 1842]:
939–940 (emphasis added).

These were men of prominence who were closely
associated with Joseph, who knew whether or not there was such a doctrine as
plural marriage being taught within the Church. The name of Brigham Young, who was en route
east on a mission, is missing from this list. In June of 1842, four months before this
certificate was published, Brigham, who had a living wife, secretly married
Mrs. Lucy Ann Decker Seely as his first
plural wife.See Stewart, Brigham Young and His Wives, 85.

Furthermore, on April 29, 1837, the Presidents of the
Seventies of the Seventy at Kirtland adopted the resolution that polygamists
would not be tolerated within that body when they adopted a
resolution which stated that they would have no fellowship with any Elder
“who is guilty of polygamy.”See the Messenger and Advocate, May
1837, p. 511:(“That we will have no fellowship
whatever with any Elder belonging to the quorums of the Seventies who is guilty
of polygamy or any offence of the kind, and who does not in all things conform
to the laws of the church.”)

Also, on November 29, 1837, the Quorum of Elders met at
Kirtland and charged Elder Solomon Freeman with the crime of polygamy.Freeman, who was living with a wife at
Kirtland at the time, denied that he had two wives until he was confronted by
witnesses.He then admitted that he had
left a wife in Massachusetts without divorcing her, and had married another
woman.Kirtland
Elders’ Quorum Record [January 15, 1836–October 5, 1841], 35.He did not defend himself on the basis that
Joseph was secretly preaching polygamy.

[1]
Dr. Bennett contrived a story in which he charged that the Church’s Ladies’
Relief Society at Nauvoo, of which the Prophet’s wife, Emma, was president, was
a “seraglio.”He stated that the Relief
Society was composed of women who were practicing the doctrine of plural
marriage for time and eternity with the high officials of the Church. In order to make his story sound more
authentic, the shrewd doctor also published what he claimed was a copy of the
plural marriage ceremony that was supposedly used in the lodge. Dr. Bennett declared: “The most extraordinary and infamous feature
of the social and religious system established by the Mormon Prophet, and one
in which he closely resembles his master and model, Mahomet [Muhammad], is the
secret regulations he has formed for directing the relations of the sexes .... The Mormon seraglio is very strictly and
systematically organized. It forms a
grand lodge, as it were, and is divided into three distinct orders, or degrees.
The first and lowest of these is styled the ‘Cyprian Saints;’ the second, the
‘Chambered Sisters of Charity;’ and the third and highest degree is called the ‘Cloistered
Saints,’ or ‘Consecratees of the Cloister.’”Bennett, History of the Saints, 218, 220.

[2]
“Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of
fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have
one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either
is at liberty to marry again.” D&C [1835 Edition] 101:4.

Benjamin R. Horton, Attorney

A homeschooling father of three children and happily married in Salt Lake County, Utah, Benjamin Horton is a gun-toting anarcho-capitalist attorney who loves mountain biking, freedom, conspiracies, UFOs, diet Mountain Dew, and Kenpo Karate.